Friday, July 18, 2008

Many things can go out of tune or alignment in your golf swing, that's why everybody is working on something. And it's not just amateurs, it's the pros as well. Actually the pros manage, cajole, tweak, and recover their swings almost constantly as they have careers and employment riding on their performance.

If you're like the vast majority of golfers, you search your memory banks after a couple of bad shots, trying to recover which key swing thought you've forgotten. How's my posture, did I keep my left forearm connected to my body, did I stay behind the ball, did I turn my back to the target... and on and on. I'd like to reiterate one that you've probably focused on from time to time, namely to actively rotate your leading forearm - your left arm if you are right handed. It's very easy to let the right arm takeover and become too dominant. This happens because we want to use our strength and 'hit' the ball or even guide it. Lots of bad things can happen from this. Often you'll get shots going both left and right, making your life miserable because you can't plan for either type of miss.

If you're right handed, grip the club with your left hand as you would when hitting a ball. Hold your left arm directly in front of you. The club should be pointing toward the sky. Now rotate (pronate) your forearm so that the club points directly away from the target with your palm facing the ground. Then rotate (supinate) your left arm so the club points directly at the target and your palm is facing the sky. In order to get the club consistently square at impact, your left forearm has to rotate in this way during the swing, particularly the supination that takes place on the downswing. Try doing the drill described above with a club for a few minutes each day. This will strengthen the muscles and make it easier to pronate/supinate during your normal swing. You'll be surprised and happy for what this will do to improve contact with the golf ball.